Disclaimer: Believe me, if I owned Kingdom Hearts, every stinkin' game would be for PS 2(the nice, dependable affordable game console), Demyx and Axel would still be alive, and Cloud wouldn't have disappeared or whatever...oops! Yeah, ahem, anywho...

"A party! Oh my gosh! A party! I can't wait!"

Yuffie's sudden extravagant exclamation made Tifa jump, nearly causing her to drop the flask of whatever concoction that Merlin and asked her to hold while Aerith helped him find some other ingredients.

"I can't believe it! We're finally having a celebration for the reconstruction of Radiant Garden! And it's gonna be totally awesome!" Yuffie continued, jumping up and down in front of Leon, who stoically leaned against a wall, staring at a letter in his hand.

Tifa gave an inaudible sigh. She had planned to leave by now to go look for Cloud after he had disappeared during his latest skirmish with Sephiroth. Yet, here she was, still in Radiant Garden. Maybe she wanted to make sure everything went all right with the Reconstruction, but she couldn't help enjoying her stay, even though Cloud pulled his disappearing act again. That ice cream of Scrouge McDuck's wasn't too bad either.

She sighed again, staring at the flask of who-knows-what in her hand. Part of her wanted to stay for the celebration. It had been so long since she could actually go somewhere in something nice and have fun without worrying about bad guys crashing the party. Yet, there was that nagging voice, probably her conscience, telling her that she needed to go in search of Cloud as soon as humanly possible.

It had been a while since Sora and the others had left, and other than the upcoming celebration that had everyone in an ecstatic uproar, everything else was pretty quiet. It nearly bored Tifa out of her mind. Cid just sat on his computer and made sure the security system and all continued to run smoothly, as well as a little gummi ship business on the side. Merlin simply ran about with his magic devising new plans and experiments. Aerith seemed content with helping any of them when they needed help. Almost all Leon had done for the past while was read and reread that letter of his, whoever it was from. And as usual, Yuffie bounced around like her hyperactive ninja self, excited about something or another. Tifa wondered what Cloud was doing right then.

She shifted on her feet, a bit anxious. She still didn't understand why he ran from her for so long. She wanted to know...and she wanted him to come back, or at least let her find him. This little game of Tag had just about worn her out; and now Yuffie was babbling about some sort of party.

Aerith's face brightened as she lifted her head to talk to Yuffie as the ninja gabbed about the party. All Tifa caught of the conversation was something about dancing and cake and music and whatever else the little ninja decided to cook up.

Tifa let out an inaudible sigh and walked towards the door. Then she heard Cid's inquiry, "Where're you goin' little lady?"

The dark-haired young woman faked a smile, "Oh, I just need to run a few errands, I'll be back in a bit!"

Cid seemed satisfied, and Tifa slipped out of the house. The fresh air seemed to calm her nerves a little bit. However, with the celebration coming up, everyone was hustling and bustling around like last-minute shoppers at Christmas-time. She enjoyed company and people, but this was too much. As she passed different shops, the shopkeepers either bid her good afternoon or tried to sell her something. When she walked by Scrouge McDuck and the Moogles, she smiled and said a casual 'Hello' before jogging back down to the Borough and came to a stop in front of Merlin's house.

Tifa stood there for a moment, complimenting what she was going to do. She sighed. She wasn't ready to go back. Not just yet. With that, she turned and ran towards the Bailey, jumping the stone box-type structures to get there.

As she walked down the stairs of the near ruins of the Bailey, wondering exactly what she was doing. When she walked through the massive rupture in the wall and down the makeshift steps, something struck her mind. Many things struck her mind.

When she arrived at the decorative platform at the foot of the 'stairs', everything became perfectly still and perfectly silent. She couldn't even hear the wind blow. The only sounds were her own steps on the worn deep blue tile. All of a sudden a thousand thoughts hit her, and all of them were somber, and even sad. She felt lonely. She felt like she was the only person in the world that could understand her. She couldn't comprehend why no one else could grasp her feelings. Tifa knew that Sora, Donald, and Goofy were battling something that she herself didn't fathom, and she knew that whatever they were battling couldn't be entirely evil.

Whatever they were fighting wasn't like the Heartless or Sephiroth. It was like something so sad that no one would be able to understand anything about it at all. She began to realize what it was now. Someone had fallen here.

She knelt on the cold blue stone floor, running her fingers over the designs gently. It felt so cold and sad. It was almost as if whatever had fallen here was crying out for someone to know him and how he felt, but everyone jumped to conclusions or ignored him entirely. It seemed just like her.

She would smile and pretend as if everything was always all right. She would put on a mask and always try to be optimistic for the sake of everyone else, even when things looked horribly bad.

It now occurred to her how like Cloud she really was. Tifa had always thought of herself as the glue that tried to keep everyone together, but she tried to hide her feelings just like he did. He ran away to keep people from worrying and to prevent himself from seeing their pain that he caused. She put on a mask to keep everyone from worrying. She tried to pretend that everything was always going to be perfectly fine.

As she rose to her feet, she realized how much she missed him. She missed his sea blue eyes and the way they could just be near each other and understand. Most of all, she missed his smile. Those 'once in a lifetime' moments when his expression told her more than words ever could.

Tifa closed her eyes, leaning on the old gateway. When she opened them, she could see the expanse of the blue crystallite stone. Brushing an exhausted hand through her dark hair, she continued down the path of the Ravine Trail.

Her boots thumped against the stone with every step. Her walk was slowed, taking in the not-so-long ago memories that littered the trail like broken cans. Most of all, her memories consisted of the events leading up to her last encounter with her blonde-haired friend.

At last, she slipped into the Crystal Fissure at the end of the Ravine Trail. Her pace was barely at a walk now. She just wandered at a snail's pace, stopping to touch the crystal walls and take in their subtle glow. They was beautiful, like silent mourning monuments that would stand for centuries, still trying to cry out.

She stared at the exit for a few moments, leaning on one of the walls. Cloud probably wouldn't or couldn't come back of his own accord this time. If he could, this seemed like one of the places he might have liked. He probably wouldn't stay here any longer than to look, but she felt that somehow he could identify with the crystals, in a strange way. However, Cloud was one to prefer room to spread his arms freely. Confined spaces just didn't seem like his style.

It was a few more minutes before she exited the fissure. When she did, she glanced around, taking in her surroundings before giving a sigh. The Great Maw. It didn't have a very pleasant name. It made sense though. This is where that great battle was. This was where Sora had one of his greatest fights, or so she heard.

Thwip.

Her fists clenched and her stance widened in a split second. After so long in silence, such a small sound wasn't difficult to pick up. Her head swivelled to watch a tiny piece of crystallite tumble down the cliff, falling to her level with a 'poink'.

Tifa's eyes narrowed. There was no way in Radiant Garden that she was alone, and she could feel it. Heartless. And something else, or more like someone.

"Show yourself! I know you're there!"

She heard a strange laugh as a cloaked figure, about her height, with his or her hood up, emerged from behind one of the crystal structures. The figure merely turned to face her and gave a departing wave before he or she dissapeared in a swirl of darkness.

That's when she heard it. The sound of the realization that one's surrounded. It was barely a moment before the Heartless legion assembled. It had her completely surrounded. The ranks even went so far as the cliffs above her.

All she knew is that she would start from the bottom. Tifa took a moment to pull her gloves on her hands before taking a ready stance. The starting bell had sounded. Tifa whipped into action, a flurry of kicks, jumps, and punches. As she dispatched the Soldiers and Shadows with ease, the legion just seemed to keep coming. She glanced around. It seemed like every time she got rid of one, three more would take its place, and the three would be much more difficult than the one before.

The more she destroyed, the more exhausted she felt. It felt like an eternity, and she felt no closer to the end than when she had started. Finally, her muscles were just about to give out, her lungs nearly felt like they were collapsing in her chest, and her legs began to shake. She was surrounded by Heartless, along with an extremely tall Neoshadow that stood right in front of her. It's bright yellow eyes stared her down and it swiftly dove into the ground before shooting up behind her. Tifa tried to turn around, but her legs gave way and she fell hard on the cold dirt, which scattered when she fell.

Unable to stand fast enough, her legs refusing to obey her command, Tifa shut her eyes and prepared herself for whatever would happen to her.

"Tifa!"

Of course. Just in time for the rescue again. The swordsman swung his blade wide, obliterating half a dozen heartless in one sweep.

"Cloud?"

It took a few moments for Tifa's eyesight to return, but the swordsman answered her, "Not this time, Tifa, sorry."

He frowned and brushed his hand through his brown hair, swinging the Gunblade over his shoulder as the rest of the Heartless disappeared.

"Aww, Squall! You got her hopes up and stuff! How cruel!" Yuffie chastised.

Leon breathed a heavy sigh of discontent at his first name, muttering something about only one person being allowed to call him that. Aerith held a friendly hand out to Tifa, "Don't worry, Tifa, everything's all right."

Tifa took her Aerith's hand and tried in vain to stand, collapsing unconscious in her friend's arms. Aerith touched the martial artist's forehead and turned to Leon and Yuffie with a worried expression, "Leon? She feels really warm! Do you think you can carry her?"

Leon nodded and gently lifted Tifa's body from the ground. Yuffie and Aerith helped position her so Leon could carry her piggy-back style back to Merlin's House.

-----------------------------------------------------

"How's she doing, Aerith?" Yuffie asked anxiously, hovering over Aerith's shoulder like a hungry vulture.

Aerith sighed, repositioning a damp cloth on Tifa's forehead, "I think she drained herself too much. She's so exhausted I think she made herself sick."

As Tifa lay in a cot set up in the corner, Yuffie and Aerith tended to her while Leon leaned on a wall nearby and Merlin and Cid had gone down to The Great Maw to see if they could find any clues to what could have caused such an unexpected Heartless attack on, not the town, but just Tifa.

Yuffie sighed and knelt down by Tifa's cot, "Aerith? Do you think stuff like this happens more often to people who are heartbroken?"

Aerith shifted her gaze from the petit ninja to her dark-haired friend, apprehending what Yuffie had said, "Yes, I do."

Nearly in the shadows, Leon spoke, his voice low, "Hearts in turmoil tend to burden the body and the mind."

With that, the house was silent for a while, save the clicking of the large computer and the crackling of the fire that Merlin made. It wasn't long before Leon slipped out of the house and made his way down the Bailey.

-----------------------------------------------------

"It's about time you came back, you-know-who hasn't stopped trying to find new ways to locate you." Leon spoke, leaning on the Crystal Fissure wall.

Silence, then a quiet voice, like a storm a few miles away, "Yeah, I know."

"She got hurt today, you know."

With his back to Leon as he looked out on the plane where the dark-haired young woman injured herself, he replied even softer, "Yeah...I know."

Leon decided it was best to change the subject, the personal lives of his friends wasn't his business, "The Restoration Committee's planning a celebration for the recreation of Radiant Garden...Yuffie wanted to have a big party."

After a few minutes of stillness, he continued, "I know a person who would be disappointed if you didn't come."

"Aerith understands."

"I'm not talking about Aerith. You know who I'm talking about, Cloud." Leon prompted.

Another long string of silence ensued, until Leon sighed. Man he was stepping on people's tender spots today. Well, if it wasn't Tifa, someone needed to knock some sense into this Prodigal Son.

"Cloud, you were there, weren't you? When she was attacked...and yet you didn't bother to help her."

Cloud was quiet for a while. It was no wonder at his last name. He had his typical attire, but his eyes were filled with strife and conflict. Sadness and angst. It's like he was at a crossroads, and turning in any direction would lead to devastation.

"I came too late again."

Leon shook his head, "It hasn't been long, but I know she doesn't care whether or not you're late or on time. She just wants you to show up in the end."

As Cloud continued to brood, his unruly spiked blonde hair blowing slightly in the breeze from the plain beyond, Leon turned and walked away.

-----------------------------------------------------

Tifa could barely open her eyes, her head hurt so badly. Her muscles ached and her stomach groaned in protest. She gave a slight sigh and tried to relax, when the voices of her comrades came into earshot.

"For her sake, that spiky-haired whippersnapper better get his behind down here soon." she heard Cid comment bitterly in his gruff tone.

"He didn't seem like he felt like showing up any time soon." Leon's low, stern voice added.

"That big fat jerk! He's gone on one of his guilt trips again! It's always 'angst, angst, angst' all the time, just like Broody McBroodypants!" Yuffie mocked.

"I think Cloud's scared." Aerith inputed.

The rest of her friends' conversation faded as Tifa felt herself falling asleep once more.

-----------------------------------------------------

It had been hours since the fire died. The room still held a dark blue midnight hue. Tifa still slept, though in a more pleasant slumber this time. The front door opened with the slightest wooden creak. The visitor entered, walking on the wooden planks in black boots, moving towards Tifa's cot. He stood there, watching her sleep, as he'd done a number of times before. Watching her and how peaceful she looked, how totally and utterly serene, he couldn't bring himself to wake her up. He didn't want to steal her out of the peaceful world she's in just to involve her in all his problems. He wanted her to have freedom. The freedom he wished he could have, and the freedom that everyone else he knew had. Somehow, he felt trapped. He felt like he was imprisoned in chains and all his problems were his alone to carry.

As he watched her, his blue eyes scanning over her face and her body, he knew. He slowly knelt down by her cot. His eyes wandered over her again, almost afraid to touch her, as if he would wake her up. Cloud released a gentle sigh, slowly and hesitantly reaching his hand up to touch her hair. He delicately picked up a few strands of her dark silky hair and pulled his hands through it. He had forgotten how soft her hair was, how soft she was, and how serene she always looked. He missed her optimism, how she knew that whatever happened, everything would be fine. She was real. She was confident in who she was and she didn't care what anyone thought of her.

Except him.

Cloud's body jerked slightly as the object of his thoughts stirred from her sleep. As she slowly opened her eyes, Cloud was tempted to at least rise to his feet, but he resisted. The last thing a girl wants to see is a shadow of a guy in a pitch black room at night standing over her bed.

"Cloud? Is it you this time?"

Her voice came at a hoarse whisper. She reached her hand toward his face, to see if he was real or if it was another dream. Cloud watched her hand but did not object as she softly brushed her fingertips over his face. Finally he closed his eyes and answered softly, "Yes."

Tifa smiled, a devious smirk on her face, "You're late."

Cloud tried to hide the hint of a smile at the corner of his lips. He took her hands and pulled her to her feet. However, Tifa's feet couldn't retain balance on their own after hours without usage. She stumbled and fell into the swordsman's chest. He caught her by the arms and let her use him as leverage to stand back up. When they caught each other's eye, he searched her eyes for what she was thinking and she searched his for his real reason for coming back.

Finally, he released her and walked back over to the door, turning around to wait for her to follow. Tifa walked calmly up to him and followed him out the door, closing it behind her. When they were outside, he turned around and looked her in the eye, speaking softly, "I'm...I'm sorry."

Tifa smiled tenderly, "Dilly dally-shilly shally."

After a moment, Cloud continued, "Tifa...There's...something I have to tell you."

Tifa stared at him, urging him to go on.

Cloud sighed and took effort not to look at her, "It's...It's about, um...the light...and...also about us."

I'm sorry! I couldn't help myself! I had to have some kind of...hmm...a sort of memorial service for a certain Organization member. Hehee, anywho, do tell me if I have any problems, grammatical, character, or elsewhere, and I shall be happy to fix it! By the way, this fic is three parts, so thankfully it's pretty short. I know many people who would not be happy with me if I started another long chapter fiction.

Do review! I do so appreciate it! And it helps me write faster, yes...The second chapter should hopefully be up by next month...my schoolwork interferes so much... Tootles everybody!